Hidden Grace
by EnergyEmber
Summary: Danny grew up knowing that monsters were real. But danger never really entered her life until a hidden spark attracted a dying angel. Determined to save the angel she called David, she will align herself with hunters, travel through Hell, and give up her home. It turns out angels aren't so sweet. Adjusting to her new life would be easier if they acted more ... human.
1. Chapter 1

My friends often describe me as paranoid, but I'm just cautious. I believe in lots of things that others don't. And I'm not talking about God or any other sort of religion. There are unexplainable, dangerous things out there that the world turns a blind eye to because humans don't want to believe that monsters exist. This is something I've studied since I was seven, from Grimm fairytales to religious myths. Anything that had connections to the supernatural, I looked into. It was actually thanks to Father Patrick that I dedicated so much of my time to this stuff.

Everyday after school I would stay at our local parish's day care and bible study. One night my parents were late picking me up, not that I could tell the difference then the usual time since I always stayed at St. Anthony's church long after then sun had set. The other kids had already left; it was just the pastor and I waiting in the chapel. We were sitting in one of the front pews and he was reading something in Latin to me, because he knew I liked the sound of the language even if I didn't understand it, until this woman in a suit walked in. I remember she had this strange smile on her face and her eyes were pure black. Father Patrick pushed me under the pew and told me to stay hidden no matter what. I guess the woman hadn't noticed me. They talked, Father tried to get her to leave. She said she was looking for something, something she thought he had. When she got close, I saw Father throw holy water at her from a small bottle he always kept in his pocket. She lunged at him and I closed my eyes. I heard things being thrown about and cries of pain from both of them.

Then I heard the Latin, followed by such an unearthly scream from the woman. I opened my eyes in time to see black smoke rise out of the woman's mouth and then her body collapsed on the ground. Father didn't explain to me what happened. After he was sure I was all right, he had me help straighten the church back up until my parents came. The next day the seven year old me confronted him about the incident until he told me everything. I still don't believe he actually told me everything about that night, but he told me enough to get me hooked. When he realized I was never going to live that night down he started to teach me. I learned about ghosts and vampires, shifters and fairies, witches and demons.

Father Patrick taught me how to protect myself. I wore a protection amulet from possession until I was eighteen and could get the symbol tattooed on my hip. When I moved into my own apartment last year I repainted the whole thing with paint that was mixed with holy water. I wear iron rings and keep a rosary laced through my belt at all times. Sometimes even when I meet new people I'll 'accidentally' spill some of my water bottle, which is always filled with holy water, on them. Sometimes I'll do it to people I know as well, especially when my friends don't wear the protection amulets I give them. In high school I took Latin and memorized an exorcism spell. I can read it fluently now. Oh, and lets not forget that the rug by my front door has a devil's trap sewn on the bottom. I'm not paranoid, just incredible prepared.

I had never encountered another supernatural being since that night when I was seven, so the only exposure to them besides what I looked up in the library was the fictional kind. Despite knowing it was real, books, movies, and TV shows that had the supernatural as a theme didn't bore me. In fact, I loved it. I laughed when they got something wrong about lore or drew a sigil wrong and I would contact Father Patrick about anything the stories depicted that I didn't know about. Just to see if it was real or not. One of the shows I watched was called Supernatural. Not a very original title, I know. It got canceled after the main characters averted the Apocalypse and threw Lucifer back into his cage. It got picked up as a book series, but only three books were ever published because apparently the author died not long after. The fans whisper on the online forums about the show becoming cursed after the angel characters were introduced. I immediately went to Father Patrick about the idea of angels existing. He said that of course they did, but they had never come down to Earth as far as he knew. I got the feeling he only believed that angels existed as an extension of his religious beliefs and had no proof. As for myself, I believed in God. Rarely attended mass and only prayed every once in a while, usually when I was feeling low. But I still believed enough to get conformed when I was sixteen and hide my supernatural studies from my parents, since from an outsiders view it looked kind of demonic at times. Angels I had yet to make my mind up about. The kind that guides and protects. Those were the ones that I wished were real.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a normal action that someone would never think would lead to such a strange path. I was watching DVDs of old TV shows that I owned, switching between Supernatural and Grimm when the itch started. My right eye bothered me the rest of that week. One day I rubbed it so much the white of my eye stayed red until the next morning. After the second week I gave in to seeing a doctor. The morning of I brushed my teeth with a blank look as I stared into the mirror. I looked down briefly then back to the mirror and a different face stared back at me. The sight made me jump and I dropped my toothbrush into the sink. Then it was gone, and only my own shocked face stared back at me. It happened so fast the first time I thought I'd imagined it, but for the rest of the day whenever I caught my reflection that other face stared back at me. It only ever lasted a second, enough to make me jump each time. After it was gone I couldn't even describe it, except one feature. The face's startling blue eyes were burned into my memory from the first time it appeared instead of my reflection. They were unnerving, nothing like my own green eyes. This went on for another week until those eyes were the only things I would see when I closed my own eyes to rest.

"I think I'm going crazy," I said, flopping down on my couch. It had been a long day at work. Fact checking an article about different lipstick colors being able to match a girl's aura and what it says about that individual turned out to be taxing. And incredibly boring. It was a thoughtless job that I needed to pay the bills. But if I play my cards right it can get me to the writer status at the Alternative Fashion magazine. The annoying part was I kept catching that stranger's refection in my computer. A distraction I really could do without.

"I don't believe that is accurate." I snap up into a sitting position at the sound of the voice. It was deep, gruff, and completely unfamiliar.

"Who's there?" I said pulling out the small saltshaker I kept in my pocket. Scrambling off the couch, I went into one of the defensive positions I learned from my self-defense classes. I wildly looked around the empty room but there was no one there. "Show yourself!"

"I am not sure how to answer that question," he said. I decided it was a he, based off the sound of the voice.

"You don't know who you are?" I said. It was stupid talking to whatever this thing was, I should make a salt circle and call Father Patrick for help. What if it was a ghost though it doesn't feel any colder? It could be a demon, but I don't smell sulfur. Whatever it was, it certainly couldn't be human.

"None of that is necessary, I assure you. I mean you no harm," he said, in that same deadpan calm voice.

"So now you can read my mind. Peachy," I said. That thought made me pause. I hadn't heard the voice, not in the way a person would listen to music or talk to another human being. "You're in my head."

"I believe that is correct," he said. I just stood there for a second in disbelief. I really must be going crazy. The belief in the supernatural was normal. I could handle a monster or ghost or even a demon, I was prepared for those encounters. But some sort of disembodied voice in my head? What in the world was I suppose to do about that?

"Well, get the heck out!" I shouted. At the time, yelling out my fear seemed like the best idea.

"I will try," he said. There was this warmth in my chest and a ringing in my ears. My eyesight blurred for a minute. I rubbed my eyes hard. When I reopened them I saw myself, standing so close our noses almost touched. I jumped backwards into the couch; my balance wavered as I tried not to fall. The other me tilted her head to the side and stared at me questioningly. It was like looking at a mirror. She had my brown haired tied back in a braid wearing my favorite faded blue jeans and black spaghetti strap top. No shoes, just like me. The brown belt she was wearing even had my baby blue rosary strapped to it. I cautiously step closer and tossed the salt I was still clutching in my right hand at the figure. It passed right through. Not doing it any harm. "Is this acceptable?" The double said, but it wasn't my voice. It was deep like a man's voice, like the voice inside my head. This was bizarre.

"Why do you look like me?" I said.

"I had no other reference. I do not remember my own form," he said. Or would it be 'she' now? I think I'll stick with 'he'.

"I need help," I said, walking to the kitchen table to fetch my cell phone. I paced around my small apartment as the phone rang. Grabbing my waterproof duffel bag from under my bed, I started to pack the essentials. Clothes, hygiene products, salt, holy water, and money. My double watched my every move with an indifferent look on his face. It felt like an eternity before Father Patrick picked up. "Hi Father, its me, Danny. No, not so much. I really need to talk to you," I said into the receiver, "in person. Can I come over tonight? I know it's late, but something." I paused and looked over at my double that still hadn't really moved from the spot he appeared, before dropping my full duffel bag on the couch. "Something strange has happened. It's not dangerous just strange. Thank you. I'll see you soon." I hung up and began to dial again this time to the Magazine where I work. Thankfully Matt was still there working late, I told him I had to take time off for at least a week. Family emergency. He understood, plus I'm sure it helped that I never take sick days. I grabbed my duffel bag, collected my keys, and locked up the place nice and tight. My double followed me wordlessly out to my car, he probably already knew where we were going.

Father Patrick only lived a half an hour drive away and it was a quiet ride at first. I would even go so far and call it awkward having my double sitting in the passenger's seat. The music playing on the radio was some indie rock channel; I was drumming my fingers on the wheel along to the song.

"I make you uncomfortable," my double said, it wasn't a question. His voice spooked me a bit, but thankfully I barely swerved on the nearly empty street.

"Its not everyday a disembodied voice with amnesia starts talking to me inside my head," I said. It made me feel better saying that out loud. Not less crazy but better. "You really don't remember anything?"

"It is all very fuzzy," he said, there was a hint of worry in his voice. It was barely there, but I could hear it all the same. I think I could even feel it.

"You need a name then. How about David?" I said. It was the first name that popped into my head, the name of a little boy who took down a giant. That was my favorite bible story growing up.

"David was indeed very brave. I will accept that name," he said.

"You're reading my thoughts again aren't you? In some cultures that would be considered rude," I said with a smile. Maybe this guy isn't so bad if he knows the story of David and Goliath.

"I apologize," he said, shifting in his seat. I could feel the sincerity rolling off of him.

"Dude, it was a joke," I said, my smile growing. It was quiet for a moment again and then I heard the quiet 'oh' he gave as a response. I burst out laughing. Something about the seriousness of this guy was just endearing. By the time I pulled into Father Patrick's driveway I had already gotten use to this unreal person's presence. The front door was open, with Father Patrick standing in the threshold wearing casual dress. I locked up the car and the Father greeted me at the door with a warm hug. It had been a while since I last visited and the gesture was comforting. He led me into the kitchen where we sat down with a cup of hot tea. I took my time explaining what had been happening over the past few weeks starting with the face that I kept seeing instead of my own reflection. He listened patiently and didn't interrupt even when I paused every once in a while to look over at my double. David, as I am now going to call him, kept walking around the room looking at the photos of family and friends Father Patrick decorated his walls with. It was really distracting.

"I'm going crazy aren't I?" I said when I completed my tale. I saw David open his mouth to say something, probably to correct me about being crazy, but I sent him a glare and he quickly looks away. Father Patrick follows my gaze with a look of confusion and then turns back to me.

"Do you see him now? What does he look like?" Father Patrick said.

"He looks like me. He said he can't remember what he looks like, he doesn't remember anything," I said then drank a big gulp of my tea. Jasmine. Not as sweet as I usually take it, but that wasn't really a priority right now. "You really can't see him?" Father Patrick shook his head, then stood up from the table. He walked into the living room for a minute; I finished my tea while I waited. When he came back, he was carrying a thick leather bound notebook that was worn from use with loose papers trapped between the pages. He set it on the table and began to leaf through it.

"A good friend of mine encountered something similar a few months back. A young man from her parish started hearing a voice that was soon followed by a full apparition taking on a form in his likeness. He too grew up with the knowledge of the supernatural, which she claims was the only reason he went to her for help instead of a medical professional. I was asked to look into it but never found anything concrete," he said.

"What happened to him?" I said, hesitation in my voice. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.

"Leah told me miracles started to follow the boy around and he stopped looking into a way to remove the presence. She said it changed him." I think Father Patrick could see my hands shake; he said I should stay the night and try to ignore David. He was going to make a few phone calls and get me some help. A makeshift bed was made up for me on his couch. I laid there staring at the ceiling in the dark long after Father Patrick went up stairs to sleep. Even though I couldn't see David, I could still feel his presence sitting on the lounge chair across the room. It made me feel restless. I tapped my fingers on the cushion to a toneless song in my head.

"You are afraid, but not of me. I do not understand," David said in a quiet whisper. I sighed; I should have followed the Father's advice and ignored him. It would have been the smart thing to do. After all David could be some sort of evil entity trying to slowly influence my actions and take over my life. I never claimed to be smart.

"I'm afraid of how this thing will affect my life. I'm afraid of what something like you might attract, but you yourself don't feel dangerous. So you can feel my emotions too, huh?" I said, pulling the checkered quilt over my head. My face felt hot with embarrassment, which he could probably feel as well.

"You can feel mine," he said and it was true even though I was starting to think this guy didn't have any emotions. "I never asked for your name, despite you asking for mine. I should have asked that would have been the polite thing to do." I smile a little at his conclusion.

"It's Danielle, but I like being called Danny," I said.

"It is nice to meet you Danny Hunter," he said, but I hadn't told him my last name. So how could he know? What else did he know about me, about my life? How long has he been rooting around in my head already? I didn't want to admit it but I think I already knew the answer. My nerves were back.

"We should get some sleep," I said turning on to my side so I faced the back of the couch. There was this warm feeling in my chest again as I felt David retreat deep into my subconscious. I wondered if he was going to sleep tucked away between my memories. Maybe he would appear in my dreams. I closed my eyes and waited to slip into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day I didn't hear a word from David all morning as I helped Father Patrick around the house while he prepared for today's evening sermon. The Father said he had called his friend Leah and asked if we could meet with her to discuss my condition. We were going to drive to a safe meeting place tomorrow and today I needed to get supplies. It was going to be a long drive. I spent the day packing Father Patrick's car with my own duffel bag of supplies as well as the Father's own emergency pack filled with necessary things for travel. He had insisted on taking his car. I was filling the trunk with everything on the list he gave me when I noticed the compartment in the floor of the trunk. I had seen it before from times when I helped unload donations for the church's clothes drive, but I had never opened it before. It was a strange feeling of curiosity, like it wasn't my own. I had always just assumed a spare tire was under there, nothing out of the ordinary, but this time something made me open it.

What I found surprised me to say the least, though I was right about the spare tire. But there was also a pair of rifles, boxes of ammo and a couple of silver knives. I slowly closed the compartment's lid and continued with my packing. Through out the day I wanted to ask Father about what I saw, but I didn't. We didn't really talk much at all. He kept giving me these weird stares when he thought I wasn't looking. I don't know how to describe them, concern, pity, maybe even fear. He knows so much more than he is letting on, but I can't help but trust him all the same. It's not like I know anyone else who truly believes that the supernatural are real. I tried talking to David about my worries, but he ignored me. It's like he's taking Father Patrick's advice for me. I was ready for the day to be over when St. Anthony's 5 o'clock service started. Sitting in the back of the church I kept my head down with my hands folded in my lap. I didn't listen to what Father Patrick was saying up front and I didn't take part in the hymns. Instead I prayed to anyone who would listen, for strength, for clarity, and for David. He seemed like a pure soul that didn't deserve the confusion of amnesia or the distrust that I logically should feel towards him. As the crowd shuffled out of the church at the end of the service that warmth in my chest returned and David, in my form, appeared sitting next to me in the empty pew. Naturally, no one else could see him.

"Where have you been all day?" I mumbled turning my head to look at him. His eyes were fixed on the Alter at the front of the room, eyebrows furrowed. He stood up without answering me and walked down the pew to the center aisle. Walking towards the Alter at a slow pace, he traced his left hand on the top of the pews as he passed. He was half way there when I decided to get up and follow him to the front. He stopped on the steps that led up to the Alter and stared up at the stain glass that decorated the walls. It depicted pictures of saints, prophets, and angels. I could feel he was reaching for something like the beginnings of a memory, but nothing came.

"This place is important to you?" he asked.

"I guess. I grew up here," I said, standing next to the front pew.

"You are devote," he said and I laughed. I never saw myself as a person devoted to religion; I had never truly been devoted to anything before. Well, except maybe to my preparation against the dangers of the supernatural. He stared at me with questioning eyes, his head tiled. It made me laugh even harder.

"What's so funny?" someone said from behind me. I turned around to see my dad standing a few pews down. At this point the church had been cleared out and Father Patrick was still in the back finishing some work. My father must have attended this evening's mass, I guess I was so engrossed with my thoughts I never saw him. He was in casual dress, a flannel shirt and jeans. It's what he always wore on the weekend when he would spend the day out in the garden. He would always change before going to a service though. "You know, I've been looking for you for a long time my dear," he said with a smile on his face that never reached his eyes. "They protected you really well, a lot better than the others," he said walking towards me.

"Dad, what are you talking about?" I said my voice shaking. He stopped in front of me reaching his hands to touch my face. I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn't move. This feeling, something dark and wrong it was washing off of him.

"I'm not your dad sweetheart," he said, his hands suddenly around my throat. He squeezed hard and my lungs screamed hot for air. I stared into my father's eyes and all I saw was endless darkness. A demon. Struggling I kicked widely as he lifted me off the ground, I couldn't think straight. I heard David shout for him to let me go, but even the demon couldn't see him. "Don't worry I won't kill you. The boss has big plans for you apparently." I reached up my hands and pressed them hard against his. I could hear the skin burn as it came into contact with the thick iron rings I always wore. He let go and I fell to the ground. I desperately scrambled away on all fours, gasping to catch my breath.

"You can't be here," I said my voice raspy, "this is hallowed ground." The man, no, the demon laughed in my father's voice. It made me twitch.

"The boss man wouldn't send some low-level demon to retrieve a container as important like you," he said. I scrambled to get out the salt shaker tucked into my pocket, and start to pour out the salt to form a circle. The demon flicked his wrist before the salt even hit the ground and the shaker was telekinetically sent flying out of my hand. "I see you've learned a few things since I last came looking for you all those years ago." He raised his hand again and I went flying to the left, landing hard against the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of me and I could barely breathe. My head was spinning and a few black spots floated through my vision. I couldn't move with my back pinned against the wall and my feet dangling a good foot off the ground. David lunged at the demon from behind, I presume to try to knock it down to take its attention from me. But he passed right through the demon and it didn't even make the slightest shiver that it might have noticed David. His expression was twisted in frustration; maybe he really was only in my head. He couldn't affect the demon or anything on his own, he was just a projection of some consciousness trapped inside my own. David looked at me, eyes pleading as the demon slowly walked towards me. It was like he was begging me to do something, but what could I do pinned to the wall completely at the mercy of this demon wearing my dad's skin. My eyes only reflected the same pleading expression.

Then I felt the warmth in my chest, only this time it grew until it burned. The light in the room seemed to intensify, and everything looked like blurred shapes and heightened colors. I couldn't see David anymore, but I could see the demon. The familiar warm face of my dad had melted away to something dark and grotesque. It stood out like it didn't belong in the light filled room. A voice whispered in the back of my mind telling me what to do and my body obeyed before I could consciously comprehend what was happening. With my palms and the balls of my feet against the wall I pushed off with such force that I broke free of the demon's power. I tackled the demon with enough strength to knock it to the ground. It snarled, only momentarily still, from the surprise of my actions, as I rolled off and got to my feet. It rolled onto its stomach while I got into a defensive position. Before the demon could stand I swung my left leg down hard and my heel connected with the top of its head. I heard a crack when it's skull hit the tile flooring. Someone ran into the room at that point, I some how could sense the presence before I heard the footsteps.

"Start the exorcism," I said, but it came out deeper then I ever thought I could make my voice go. The command had so much power behind it; I don't know how anyone could disobey at the sound of it. Father Patrick immediately started speaking the necessary Latin, his voice a bit shaken at first but it slowly grew stronger. As he neared the end the heat in my chest subsided and my vision returned to normal. I watched as the black smoke of the demon poured forcibly out of my dad's mouth. My body shook unbearably cold without the presence of that spark of warmth, of power.

"Daddy?" I said once the demon was finally gone. I scrambled to his side carefully rolling him onto his back. My hand hovered over his month and noise, then moved down to his neck as I searched for a pulse. There wasn't one. Panicking I moved my hands to his chest and began basic CPR. I kept mumbling for him to wake up and that he was going to be okay. Tears streamed down my cheeks. My arms felt heavy; I didn't have the energy to restart his heart properly. Father Patrick knelt down and gently pulled my arms away from my dad's body. I pulled against him wanting to keep going, I couldn't let my dad die.

"He's gone dear. I'm so sorry," Father Patrick said his voice a low whisper. The last of my strength dissipated and he pulled me close into his arms. He let me cry into his chest for what felt like hours.

"It's all my fault, Father. All my fault," I said between sobs. My breathing was so sharp and heavy I have no idea if he could even understand what I said. The man led me to one of the pews far away from where the fight took place. I tucked up my legs letting my knees touch my forehead, and continued to cry. For the next few hours I watched things move in a haze. The police and an ambulance showed up. They took my dad's body away. Father Patrick took care of everything. I later found out that my dad's official cause of death was declared a heart attack, and when he fell he hit his head hard on the floor. There was no funeral, he was cremated and I wasn't there. That same day Father Patrick ushered me into his car and we drove through the night.


	4. Chapter 4

I slept in the backseat, but it was far from restful. My body shook violently from this chill deep inside of me, even with three fleece blankets wrapped tightly around me. It wasn't until the first rays of sunrise streaked across the clear sky that I had finally drifted off into sleep. But when Father Patrick gently shook me awake after he had parked in front of a diner just off the highway, I wished I had stayed awake the whole time. What I remember of the dream I had while zonked out had left me drained. I kept dreaming of my dad. We were at home making dinner together. Then suddenly he turns on me and wraps his hands tight around my neck. Each time I'm saved by another version of me with eyes made out of light. I think it might have actually been David. He was the only reason I could have fought back that demon yesterday. I should feel grateful, he saved me, but he also made me kill my dad.

Father Patrick led me inside the diner. He found us a booth while I went to the restroom to change and brush my teeth. Once I was done, I quickly went out to the car and threw my duffle bag into the trunk before joining the Father in the booth. I sat on the opposite side and opened up the menu. He ordered a chicken salad, and even though breakfast time for normal people was already over I had pancakes. We both ordered coffee, though mine was half filled with milk and sugar. While we waited I was grateful Father Patrick didn't try and get me to talk about what happened last night. I didn't want to think about it, let alone talk about it. Later I'd let the reality of my loss sink in and cry some more. I would grieve properly later, when I could be alone. Instead he started to talk about the meeting with Leah. Truthfully I had forgotten about it. Apparently this diner was the 'safe place' that she had suggested and would be here soon. Father Patrick had talked to her on the phone while I was in the restroom. He also handed me a hex bag he had made at some point during the drive here, I must have been out when we stopped. He told me to wear it at all times so I tied it to one of the belt loops on my pants. It probably looked really strange dangling on my hip next to my rosary, but I really didn't care. It wasn't long after that when our food arrived.

I was in the process of drenching my pancakes with maple syrup and honey when a woman maybe in her forties entered the diner. She had some sort of band t-shirt on that I didn't recognize, jeans, and a leather jacket. Her black hair was cut short pixie-style and she kept playing with the necklace she was wearing as she looked around the vicinity. I had stuffed my mouth full of pancake when she walked over to our booth.

"I thought I recognized that grey hair," the woman said to Father Patrick. He turned to look up at her and smiled.

"Its good to see you again Leah," he said standing up and giving her a friendly hug. "Danny, I'd like you to meet Sister Leah. Leah this is Danielle Hunter." She extended out her hand and I took it.

"Good to meet you Danny," she said before letting go of my hand. She slid into the booth next to Father Patrick after ordering herself a cup of coffee. "You have a bit of a sweet tooth, don't you?" I was reaching towards another sugar packet to sprinkle in my coffee when she asked. I swallowed before answering.

"Not really. I just felt like something sweet today, I guess," I said, quickly retracting my hand before I picked up the packet. Its not like I really need another one anyway, I could barely taste the coffee as is. She hummed in understanding and looked at me like I had just proved some sort of stereotype by wanting to sweeten my meal. It really bugged me.

"I heard you had a stressful night," she said. I nodded and returned to my pancakes. "I'm sorry for your loss." I mumbled a thanks between mouth full's, keeping my eyes on my plate. Leah waited until I was finished eating before she started questioning me about David. I retold my story for her even though I'm sure Father Patrick had already told her what was happening to me. She patiently listened until I was finished, then started to tell me about her experience dealing with a similar case. It had started the same way as me apparently, the young man kept seeing another face in his reflection, but could never remember what it looked like afterwards. Then came the voice that couldn't remember anything about itself, but wouldn't stop talking. That part was certainly different from my relationship with David. Soon after came the miracles. People's lives the young man touched suddenly got better. He healed people by talking to them. Occasionally there were really bizarre miracles as well, like an old tree suddenly appearing outside his house where there wasn't one last night. It all had caught a lot of attention from some very bad people. The young man ended up having to go into hiding.

"Father Patrick said the presence changed him," I said holding onto my now cold coffee cup tight.

"It influenced him, yes. He use to be a very quiet boy who was very dedicated to his studies. It's really changed how he lives," she said. Her tone of voice changed when she saw my nervous expression. "Not necessarily in a negative way, he's actually more outgoing and active then he use to be. I think you should meet him, maybe that would help."

"You know where he is?" Father Patrick said, and she nods.

"We keep in touch. He's been traveling with the Parkinson family; they're heading to Nashville right now for a hunting trip," she said.

"That's only about six hours from here, but I don't think I'll be able to make it if I don't get some sleep first," he said, laughing.

"You really should have stopped for the night Patrick, we originally weren't suppose to meet until later tonight anyway," Leah said. He just shrugged and smiled. I had been avoiding looking at Father Patrick since I woke up, so I hadn't noticed the dark bags under his eyes. "How about I take her? Would that be okay with you Danny?" Before I get a chance to say anything Father Patrick cuts me off.

"No, she'd be safer with me," he said. Leah gave him a skeptical look, adding in a small condescending 'oh?' "Not that I don't trust your skills Leah, but Danny just lost her only family. She needs a familiar face right now."

"Yes, all right," Leah, said sighing. I was drumming my fingers against my leg as they continued to talk about me as if I wasn't there. They were treating me like a child. I was hurt, I was scared, but I was not helpless. I kept quiet as they continued to talk about what else had been happening in the two friends' lives until Leah had to leave. Father Patrick paid the bill and we walked out to the car. Leah stopped me and said she had something for me before we left. I walked with her to her truck and she pulled out of the trunk a suitcase. It was filled with lots of different types of knives, all different sizes. She handed me a small one along with a holder I could attach to my belt. She said it had been cooled with holy water during the forging process, so it would be helpful if another demon attacked. Finally she gave me three phone numbers, saying I could reach the young man who had the same condition as me, Elijah Foster, on any of those. I thanked her once again and walked back to Father Patrick's car.

We drove for a half an hour until we found a city big enough with a decent motel. This time I paid close attention to the scenery. Father Patrick found a reasonably priced place and booked a room for the night deciding it would be better to rest for the day. Then tomorrow we would head to Tennessee. After we settled in, I told him I needed to take a walk. He said I shouldn't leave without him, but I told him I needed the air and the time alone to grieve. Reluctantly he agreed. I walked to the motel's lobby where I had noticed an ATM earlier and withdrawn five hundred dollars from my checking account. Outside I stretched my legs by walking around the parking lot for about a half an hour before I returned to the motel room. It wasn't much longer until Father Patrick fell asleep. I grabbed my duffle bag, stashed the knife Leah gave me inside it, wrote a quick note for the Father then left. I walked into town where I saw a bus station earlier. When I got there, I found the bus routes posted on the wall. This place only traveled to nearby cities, but one of them went to a station that had buses that crossed state lines. Apparently I was in Missouri. Thankfully the bus was leaving in only ten minutes, I bought my ticket, grabbed a few candy bars and a pop tart from a vending machine, and then waited. The bus was pretty empty, but I still sat in the back.

"David. I really need to talk to you," I said once the bus was on the road. I felt that warmth in my chest and he appeared in a blink of an eye sitting next to me.

"About last night, I'm –" he said, but I cut him off.

"Don't. I don't want to hear some halfhearted traditional line that people say whether they care or not," I said, my voice caught in my throat a little. "I need to know how I broke free of that demon's power. Was that you?"

"I believe it was also you," he said. I stared at him and he stared back. It felt like we were both expecting the other to have all the answers, but neither of us did.

"That doesn't really comfort me, you know," I said, tapping my fingers on my right leg. "Do you think this Elijah guy has more of a clue to what this is?"

"I can not say, I have never met him and I do not understand what has happened to me. I do not understand what is happening to you," he said. "I'm sorry that my presence has some how gotten you involved in a world that is very dangerous." Some how his admission that he was as lost as me lifted a weight off my shoulders. I chuckled.

"I became involved the day I saw that demon at the church when I was seven. Once you know the supernatural exist there is no going back," I said. We rode in silence the rest of the way, and when we got to our stop he followed me off. He didn't have to maneuver around people like I did as I made my way to the next bus heading for Tennessee. David's form just passed right through them. Once on, I settled into a seat in the back again. I curled up my legs under me, and rested my head against the window. Silent tears rolled down my cheeks and I let myself cry until I fell asleep. I didn't even notice when the bus started to move. David still sat next to me, I could feel him watching me but I didn't care anymore. I was too tired to care.

What woke me up hours later was the gnawing pain in my stomach from not having dinner. Groggily I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and straightened out in my seat. My neck felt stiff from the painful position I had been sleeping in. Next to me was David, his eyes were closed, shoulders relaxed, and his head slumped to one side. He genuinely looked like he was asleep. I had never seen before what I looked like when I slept. My bangs kept falling into his eyes. I wanted to reach out and push them out of the way for him, but I was afraid I might wake him up. Just because I was a fairly heavy sleeper didn't mean it applied to David while he borrowed my form. Fishing out my phone from my pocket, I checked the time. There wasn't even an hour left before we would arrive in Nashville. I also had five missed calls from Father Patrick. He had noticed I had disappeared, but I decided I wouldn't call him back until after I found the man that I needed to meet. Not able to ignore my stomach anymore, I dug out the pop tart and candy from my duffle bag. I finished the pop tart faster then I would have liked and moved onto one of the candy bars when I decided it was time I tried getting a hold of Elijah Foster. I dialed the first number and waited anxiously listening to the rings.

"Who is this and how did you get this number?" a man's voice flows through my phone's speaker.

"Sister Leah gave me this number. I'm looking for Elijah Foster," I said, my voice cracked from how dry my throat was. Biting my lip, I hoped I still sounded confident enough. Static and shuffling noises came through the speaker before a different voice spoke up.

"This is Elijah," he said. I took a deep breath before answering.

"Hello Elijah, um, I'm Danny. Sister Leah told me about what happened to you seven months ago," I said.

"If you're looking for a healer, I really don't do that anymore," he said.

"No. Actually, I've recently found myself is a similar situation," I said, not sure how much I should share over the phone. I looked over at David who was still asleep before continuing. "I was hoping we could meet."

"Hold on," he said. I heard shuffling like the phone was pressed up against cloth for a few minutes before he starts to talk again. "You have a presence, not ghost or anything, a benevolent presence that speaks to only you?"

"Right now he's sleeping, but yes," I said. He laughs and I hit my head against the window at how stupid I just sounded. I really didn't mean to say that.

"Alright, why not. Let's meet," he said, I could hear the smile on his face. "You anywhere near Nashville, Tennessee? I don't know how long we'll be staying but-"

"I'm thirty minutes away," I said.

"Let me guess, Sister Leah told you. We're staying at the Westward motel, room 114. See you soon kid," he said, and then hung up. I sighed and put my phone away. Leaning back into the seat I let my muscles relax, but determined to stay awake the rest of the way.

"Was that Elijah?" David said, and I jumped a little at the sound of his voice. I turned to face him to find him sitting upright at attention staring at me with his head tilted to the side.

"I thought you were still asleep," I said, holding a hand over my heart.

"I do not think I need to sleep," he said.

"Well for a guy who doesn't need sleep, you looked pretty out of it," I said. "I'm going to go meet Elijah once we get to the city, and after I get some food." He nods and we spend the rest of the time in silence. It was dark when we got off the bus, but the station was still fairly busy. I stopped at one of the ticket stations to ask for directions, then made my way to the closest and cheapest restaurant nearby. A Denny's. I ordered a burger, fries and a milkshake, and immediately dug in. About half way through the meal I realized David had been sitting across the table watching me eat. It wouldn't have been so uncomfortable if he weren't wearing this hard stare like he was contemplating the meaning of life, which he could have been doing for all I know. He could read my mind, but it didn't seem to work the other way around. I couldn't help but slow down eating after that. It made me feel a bit self-conscious. I had just finished my meal when my cell phone rang. It was Father Patrick again. I didn't answer. After paying, I headed back outside ready for the long walk to the Westward motel.

"Why didn't you take Father Patrick's call?" David asked as we passed the third landmark on the route I had planned out. I didn't stop. I didn't look at him. I just kept walking.

"Because I'm mad at him," I said, hoping he would drop it. He didn't.

"Because he would not let you have a say in when you met Elijah?" He said, and I nodded. "He is just concerned about your safety. He is your family, because family does not just end with blood."

"But I'm also an adult who deserves to be included in decisions. Especially decisions that concern me."

"Free will is very important," he said and then stopped walking. It took me a minute to notice he was no longer by my side. I looked behind me to see what the hold up was. David stared up at the sky with a dreamy look on his face.

"David?" I said. He felt distant, like he was looking at a place far away from here only he could see. "Everything okay?"

"Yes," he said returning his attention to me. "I remembered something."

"What?" I asked with wide eyes.

"I forgot," he said. I sighed, and smiled. Both relieved and disappointed. I'm not sure if either of those feelings were entirely my own.

"Well that's not very helpful," I laughed and he stared at me, tilting his head again. It seemed to be a comforting, familiar gesture for him. "Maybe you should rest for a bit?" I didn't know if that was even possible, but he seemed to agree. That warmth in my chest returned and then he was gone. I walked the rest of the way to the motel by myself, keeping a tight grip on the knife Leah gave me, still sheathed, all the way there.

It must have been almost ten at night when I finally reached the motel. I stood outside the door of room 114 for a few minutes, before I worked up the courage to knock. A tall middle-aged man answered the door; I had to noticeably look up to meet his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

"You're Danny?" the man asked, I recognized his voice as the person who first answered phone when I called Elijah. I nodded. He stepped off to the side, keeping the door open and gestured for me to come in. Straightening my shoulders, hoping I looked confidant, I stepped inside. The room was small. It consisted of two queen sized beds, an old television, and a small table with two chairs as all of the major furniture, plus a door that probably lead to a bathroom at the far end. There were two boys sitting at the table both with laptops open. One looked like he should still be in high school with a short black haircut exactly like the older man, they had the same jaw line and brown eyes. I'd bet they were related. The other one looked like he was more my age, though it was hard to tell at first since he was currently turned away from me. He had brown hair like mine. His body was much thinner then the other two, lacking any sort of muscle definition. The younger boy noticed me first, and tapped the other one's arm to get his attention with an amused grin. He turned around in his seat and I watched as his eyes grew in surprise when he saw me.

"You're Danny?" he said with surprise in his voice. I'm not sure what he was expecting, but it apparently wasn't me.

"And you're Elijah?" I said, walking forward a bit so the older man could close the door behind me.

"Not what you were expecting, huh Elijah," the older man said sitting down on one of the beds before picking up a newspaper that was folded on top of the TV. The younger boy snickered.

"Shut up Mark," Elijah said to the boy, kicking him underneath the table. "Lets talk outside." I let him lead me outside again and we walk over to the parking lot. He doesn't saying anything until we reach a black SUV. "So you're Danny?"

"I'm pretty sure that was already established," I said, putting one hand on my hip. My knife was still gripped tight in my right hand.

"He's just embarrassed cause he thought you were a boy." I looked around, searching for the owner of this new voice and soon spot a man sitting on the hood of the SUV. Elijah noticed him too, but was trying not to look at this new person. I stared at the man longer then I probably should have, taking a step back so I could clearly see both of them. Even in this minimal lighting that was provided by street lamps scattered about the parking lot, I could clearly see that they looked exactly alike. Not related alike or even identical twin alike, but they looked exactly the same. "He should be ashamed really. You're a cutie."

"I sounded like a guy on the phone?" I asked, turning my attention to the man I knew for sure was Elijah.

"No, just young I guess. Wait," Elijah said, looking over his shoulder at his double then back at me. "You can hear Rick? You can see him?" He grabbed my shoulders, like he was making sure I was real. I nodded. His arms slowly fell back down to his sides.

"Guess, you're not so special after all kid," Rick said. Elijah ignored him.

"I can't believe it. So, you have a guy like him inside your head too," Elijah said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I call him David," I said.

"Present." I jumped when David suddenly appeared next to me. This boy was seriously going to give me a heart attack one of these days if he kept doing that. Rick slid off the SUV's hood and came over to stand next to Elijah. It was stranger seeing them standing side by side for some reason, I wouldn't be surprised if they thought the same thing about David and me.

"Good to meet you David. This kid calls me Rick," Elijah's double said, grabbing David's hand forcing him into a handshake. A shock runs through my spine the moment those two touch. I see Elijah twitch, making me think he might have felt it to. Then a flash of light blinds me. It only last a second before shooting straight up into the air, and fading away.

"What the hell was that?" Elijah said, rubbing his eyes. David and Rick had disappeared, but I already knew David was all right. I could hear him, feel him inside my head. "Those two are never allowed to make physical contact ever again."

When we walk back to the motel room, I voice my concerns about that beam of light. In particular who or what might have noticed it. Elijah agreed, and said he'd convince Mark and Josh, Mark's father, to head out of town tomorrow night after they finished the case they were currently working on. After finding out I didn't have a place to stay he invited me inside, and I happily accepted. I certainly would feel a lot safer with three hunters then on my own. Elijah told me that the Parkinsons' were hunters, but before he could explain what that exactly meant I stopped him. I knew what a hunter was; I always figured those supernatural TV shows I watched had much more then just a grain of truth in them. Before going back inside I told Elijah I needed to make a phone call, he left the door ajar a bit and headed inside to explain to the Parkinsons' the situation. I leaned up against the wall as I waited for Father Patrick to answer his phone.

"Danny? Thank goodness," he said. I could hear the relief in his voice and a knot of guilt tugged at the pit of my stomach. He asked the basic questions of if I was all right and where I was, then made it very clear I scared him to death. I was able to fit in a small apology before he started to chew me out for going off on my own.

"I understand you trust this kid because he's in the same situation as you, but hunters can be dangerous," he said. "Some of them would hunt someone like you."

"I'll be fine," I said. That gut feeling was back. That maybe Father Patrick was keeping something from me. "I can handle myself, plus I have David."

"You shouldn't get close to him Danny," he said, his voice getting lower. "We still don't know what he is. I can get to Nashville early tomorrow morning if I start driving now."

"No, don't. You drove through the night yesterday," I said. "You shouldn't come anyway, something happened that we think is going to get a lot of people's attention soon. We'll be leaving tomorrow. I'll call you when I know where we'll be heading next." I paused. I wanted to tell him to turn around and go home. I wanted to tell him not to follow me. I wanted him far, far out of the line of fire. "Please, just wait until we find a safe place to meet up again."

"Alright, I can wait a little bit longer," he sighed. We said our goodbyes and hung up. There seemed to be a lot I didn't know about Father Patrick, my mentor and ally. He knew about hunters and didn't tell me. Maybe he was even a hunter himself once, if those weapons in the trunk were anything to go by. I wondered if the reason I ran from Father Patrick the first chance I got had less to do with wanting to make my own decisions or keeping him safe and more to do with that gnawing ache I've felt since I told him about David. It was a thought that I needed to lock away for now. I shoved my phone into my duffle bag along with my knife, before going inside. The older man, Josh, greeted me warmly and offered for Elijah to take the floor so I could have my own bed. I laughed along with Mark at Elijah's mock sour face. I declined since I was still far too awake from my nap on the bus to sleep yet. Mark lent me his laptop so I wouldn't be bored, and I accepted it graciously.

It wasn't long before the three men were out. Mark and Josh were sharing a bed, though they looked a little squished and Elijah was in the other one. He was purposely sleeping on one side above the covers in case I changed my mind so I'd have somewhere to sleep. I spent a few hours watching music videos on Youtube and sent a few emails to my friends to let them know why I'd be unattainable for a while. I wrote how my dad passed away recently, and I would be staying with extended family for the time being until I was ready to return to my old life. In my head I wondered if that would ever truly happen. I sent a similar email to my work as well. Once that was all taken care of I found one of those mindless free catapult games online and played until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. It was some absurd early hour when I took off my shoes and crawled under the covers next to Elijah. I didn't even care that I could feel his back against my own. A man I had met only hours before. If he had someone like David haunting him, I just knew I'd be safe.


	6. Chapter 6

I found myself in a warehouse full of demons. I could see their true faces, twisted and ruthless. There were two boys there with me, fighting the terrible creatures and I was fighting along side of them. The blade in my hand I had never seen before, but it felt like it belonged there. I placed my hand on one of the demon's face and it exploded in a brilliant light. Burning completely away at my touch. One of the boys turned to look at me. He smiled.

Then I was in a car sitting in the back seat. Classic rock music flowed from the speakers and the driver was singing loudly. I didn't understand the appeal, but I was happy. It felt like home here. Just as suddenly as the last time, I was whisked away from the scene. This time it was not to one place, but it felt like I was traveling to a thousands of places at once. There was a rush of joy, of freedom as I dove through endless light. The closest I've ever come to feeling this same sort of adrenaline inducing sensation was when I went on a rollercoaster for the first time in eighth grade. Still the experience paled in comparison. I think I was flying. When I landed, I felt at peace in a place I had never been to before. It was a simple park, nothing flashy though the colors seemed bright and surreal. In the distance I could see a man flying a kite. Someone behind me called out to me and I answered. Brother.

My vision was foggy when I opened my eyes. It was still fairly dark in the motel room even though I could see sunlight seeping out from behind the window's curtains. Slowly I sat up and discovered I was alone in the room. On the side table was a note with my name on it. It said: went out for work, be back for lunch – Elijah. I reached down on to the floor searching for my things; I ended up rolling off the bed when I couldn't reach my bag. Taking my duffle with me I marched into the small bathroom. The facilities were in fair condition, and besides a bottle of body wash there was no other hygiene products. I'm glad I packed my own. After a long hot shower, I felt better then I had since I started this journey. It took longer then I would have liked to dry myself off, the towels were thin and scratchy. What I wouldn't give to have a hair dryer right about now. I sat on the bed flipping through the small amount of channels on the old television while I brushed out my long hair. Maybe I should cut it short that way it would be less of a hassle. I was braiding my still damp hair when the motel room's door opened. It was Mark, holding up a white paper bag almost like a peace offering.

"I brought some food," he said setting it down on the table. I walked over and helped him pull out white Chinese boxes filled with noodles and chicken. He fished through his pockets then pulled out a necklace handing it to me. "My dad thought you should have one," he said. I smiled then pulled up my shirt and lowered my pants waistline a little revealing my skin. The black and blue protection tattoo was clearly visible. I watched as the boy's face flushed pink, before covering up my tattoo again.

"Thanks, I'm good," I said, grabbing one of the boxes and a fork before sitting down. He nodded and put the necklace away, then grabbed some food for himself.

"It seems you know an awful lot about the supernatural for someone who isn't a hunter," he said when we were halfway through the meal. I paused; the statement got me thinking about Father Patrick again.

"A friend of mine taught me some stuff after I witnessed a demon attack. And some stuff I figured out on my own. I dedicated a lot of my time to being prepared for anything," I said, twirling the noodles around my fork.

"Did it help?" he said. I smiled, shaking my head.

"What are you doing being a hunter? Shouldn't you be in school?" I asked.

"I got my GED two months ago," he said, proudly. "I've been in the life since I was little. My dad's a hunter, my granddaddy was a hunter, and so was my great-granddad. Everyone in my family grew up in the supernatural, even Elijah. He's my cousin, you know, on my mother's side. Never met him until four months ago." The boy trailed off, returning to his noodles. I guess the topic of his family was a touchy subject, or at the very least Elijah was. He wouldn't look me in the eye for the rest of the meal. When we were done, he got out his laptop and became immersed in whatever he was looking up. I lay down on the newly made bed and returned to my channel flipping not having anything else to do. It was hours later when Josh came back, looking triumphant as he loosened his tie. He'd apparently had finally found out where the ghost's, who had been haunting a new condo complex construction sight, bones was buried. Later tonight we'd go and do a basic salt-and-burn then head out for a new town.

"Where's Elijah?" Josh asked after he came out of the bathroom dressed in casual clothes. Mark and me look at each other then back at Josh. Elijah hadn't come back to the room, and we hadn't heard from him. Josh threw Mark the keys and told him to go fetch the boy while he got some sleep before it got dark. I decided to tag along. Elijah was supposed to be at the library doing research, but when we got there we couldn't find him. We sat inside the SUV in the library's parking lot while Mark tried Elijah's cell phone, but he only got his answering machine.

"Where else would he go?" I asked, drumming my fingers on the car door. After what happened last night, our two resident spirits sending out a beacon of light catching who-knows-what's attention, I was a bit worried Elijah had stumbled into trouble.

"I don't know. When we aren't on a job, he usually just wanders around town people watching or held up in the library doing research. Maybe a candy store? He always tries to visit one when we get to a new town," Mark said, fiddling with his phone.

"Worth a try," I said sighing, "do you know of any near by?" He nodded. He started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot. It wasn't more then a ten-minute drive until we reached the store Mark had mentioned. We got out and went inside. It was pretty much empty, and no sign of Elijah. I bought a bag of dark chocolate covered raisins while we were there. As we headed out David decided to appear right in front of me. I almost ran right into him. Mark looked at me funny when I made an abrupt stop.

"David, please don't do that," I said rubbing my forehead, "I feel like I keep repeating myself." Mark looked at me like I was crazy, which makes sense since from his point of view I was talking to thin air.

"I can sense Rick's essence," David said in that practically emotionless tone of voice of his. "They were here recently." I grabbed David by the arm and dragged him out of the store.

"You can sense Elijah and Rick?" I said, staring at him in disbelief. He just stared back very seriously.

"Of course," he said.

"Right, of course. What was I thinking," I said rolling my eyes. Mark walks out of the store wondering what was going on. I told him I found a way to track down Elijah. He was skeptical and I had to explain who David was, it was a short explanation. I didn't exactly know much about him. We decided to walk with David in the lead. Well it was more like I was following David, and Mark followed me. We had already walked a few blocks when it happened. David took off running without any warning. I ran after him leaving behind a very confused Mark. He turned down an alleyway. When I turned that corner, David had stopped and this time I really did run right into him. I had a hold of his arm when I saw what had made him stop. Further down the alley was Elijah pinned up against a wall with a man hovering over him. The man had one hand holding on to Elijah's chin, the other was holding a knife against his cheek. My eyesight went blurry for a second, light and color enhanced. I could see the twisted face of a demon hidden inside the man. My grip on David grew tighter and the vision faded. I started the Latin exorcism immediately. The demon turned its attention on me.

"You again," it hissed, partly in anger partly in pain. I finished the exorcism, and the deadly black smoke of the demon poured out of the man. If I had timed myself, I would have beaten my personal record. The man fell to the ground unconscious, but still breathing. I ran over to Elijah. Blood seeped through his shirt's sleeve and dripped down his cheek.

"Well, aren't you talented," Elijah said, forcing a smile. I wrapped my arm under his shoulder, helping him up onto his feet. I was suddenly glad he was only a few inches taller then I. David tried to help on Elijah's other side but his hands went right through him. Elijah sent him a thanks for trying, when Mark finally caught up with us. I told him about the demon and he helped me guide Elijah back to the car. We needed to get out of the area before anyone noticed the unconscious man. Back in the car, I sat in the back seat with Elijah bandaging his wounds with a first aid kit I found under the seat. As we drove back to the motel, every once in a while my eyes would flicker to the passenger seat were David was sitting. His expression was one of frustration. I could feel his pain.

Josh wasn't too happy with us when we got back, but he softened a bit when we handed him the food we picked up along the way. After the meal he went back to sleep and Mark returned to his laptop. Elijah and me spent the time outside theorizing what David and Rick might be while we shared my bag of chocolate covered raisins. Every so often Rick would throw in some ideas, his were always incredibly ridiculous. I think he did it just to make us laugh. My favorite was that he and David were time travelers whose bodies burned up during travel. So their consciousnesses were forced to attach themselves to someone nearby, the whole process of course made them lose their memories. Elijah was partial to the theory that they were gods who needed our help because they were losing their memories but were too late. He mused that maybe they'd reward us if we figured out who they once were. We talked until it got dark. David never said a word. Josh fetched us when it was time to go. We packed up the truck while Josh canceled the room. I stayed in the car while the three men went out into the graveyard just outside of town with shovels, salt, and lighter fluid. While I waited I tried getting David to talk to me, but he wouldn't. He apparently had a stubborn streak. I tried to stay awake until they got back, but I eventually dosed off.

I had those weird dreams again. This time I fought against these creatures that I refered to as my brothers. They were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. But their eyes seemed empty as they followed orders from high above. I felt a deep love and sorrow towards these winged creatures. Then I was alone, with David. He still looked like me. I spoke to him, but not out loud and he responded the same way.

"I remember now," he said, an image of a man flashed in and out of existence over my form. "I am-"

My body flew forward, and I hit my head against the seat in front of me. It was a rather rude awakening, leaving me with a pounding headache and a soon to be dark bruise on my forehead. The truck's tires squealed as Josh swerved off the side of the road. I felt Elijah grab my arm checking to see if I was okay. I nodded though it was painful to move. Josh swore as he told us to stay in the car then he got out with a pistol in his hand. Elijah crawled into the trunk and opened up a case that was filled with weapons. He got himself a gun, before passing a rifle to Mark. We stared out the windows, and watched as Josh slowly approached the man who ran us off the road. He looked awfully out of place standing in the middle of the road wearing a nice suit. Mark rolled down the windows so we could hear them better.

"Put that away Parkinson, I've just come for the boy," the man said.

"You're not taking my son," said Josh, aiming his gun at the man's head threateningly. But the man only looked amused.

"I agree," he said, "I meant the other one." The man looked over at the car and smiled. "I think I'll take the girl too." I backed up closer to Elijah, and he swung his arm in front of my body as he tried to move pass me in the tight space.

"Over my dead body," Josh said.

"If you insist," the man said. He stretched out his arm the same moment Josh fired his gun. The bullet landed between the man's eyes but he didn't even flinch. Josh was frozen in a telepathic chokehold, struggling for air. The man looked back over to us. "Now if you don't want me to snap the old man's neck. You will come with me peacefully." Mark looked at us with a pleading stare. Elijah hissed at him to stay in the car and if worse came to worse he would drive off. Find somewhere safe. He would not look back. Mark nodded, but his eyes said he wouldn't leave without his father. Neither of us doubted it. Elijah got out first, raising his hands above his head before slowly slipping his gun into a holder on his belt. He walked towards the man just as slowly not wanting to set, whatever he was, off.

"You too girly," the man said. I was shaking as I climbed out the car; the only thing keeping the fear from reaching my expression was the reassuring weight of my knife against my hip. Elijah offered me a weak smile when I stopped next to him. I couldn't return it. The man walked over to us, standing right in front of me. With a smile, he reached out and stroked my cheek. I flinched at his touch. He let his hand drop to my hip and ripped the hex bag off my belt, careful to avoid my rosary.

"It takes something much stronger then this to hide you from me, sweetie," he said, the bag burning to ashes in his hand.

"What do you want from us?" Elijah said. I'm glad his voice stayed strong. The man redirected his gaze, and stepped in front of Elijah.

"The power source inside of you, of course" he said, "A demon like me could use all the power he can get."

"You can't just take our souls," Elijah said.

"I don't want your souls. Not right now anyway," he said placing his hands on our shoulders. The road around us vanished and was replaced by the inside of a mansion. When the demon let go a rush of energy caught up with me making the room spin. I grabbed a hold of Elijah's arm to steady myself. He wasn't much better off. A pair of arms dragged me away from Elijah, while another forced him into a chair. The new man strapped him to a chair, as the other dragged me off to the side. His grip was strong, I couldn't move.

"Who are you?" I said, trying my best to stare down the demon that had kidnapped us.

"I'm the bloody King of Hell darling," he said. Something in my mind clicked, it was a long shot but at the same time the obvious was screaming at me.

"Crowley?" I muttered, but he still heard me. He stared at me with an almost impressed expression, and then turned back to Elijah.

"Don't resist kid. All the others resisted and I couldn't get a single drop of power out of them. Not to mention they all died," Crowley said, chuckling at the last bit. "Normally I don't like to get my hands dirty, but this is a delicate procedure." The King of Hell rolled up his sleeve, then stabbed his hand straight in to Elijah's chest. He screamed in unbearable agony. I wanted to look away, but I was too much in shock to move. Too scared to even close my eyes. Suddenly his scream turned into a powerful high-pitched sound that echoed through the building it shattered any nearby glass and brought the demons' to their knees in pain. Now free I ran to his side and started trying to unbind him. The sound for me was painful, but bearable. Crowley was forced to extract his hand, leaving a bloody hole in Elijah's chest. The boy's eyes became filled with pure light, along with his wound as it started to heal. I got out my knife and finally cut the last of Elijah's restraints after I found I could not keep my hands steady enough to untie them. His screaming had stopped as I helped him out of the chair. He was barely conscious as I desperately dragged him out of the room. We were already outside the building when I heard Crowley shout something about angels. I knew we weren't going to get far on foot.

"You need to use my grace," David said. A whisper inside my head.

"You're what?" I asked. My head was pounding. I really wasn't in the mood for riddles.

"You've done it before. Think of somewhere safe," he said, and I did. The ground fell underneath me and I strengthened my hold on Elijah. There was a rush of power and light through my body, before I felt the ground beneath my feet again. I stumbled and fell, along with Elijah. Looking around me I breathed a sigh of relief when I recognized the place. We had landed in my apartment. I let out a weak laugh, and then laid there for who knows how long next to an unconscious Elijah. My body shook, I didn't have the energy to move. The last thing I did before I too slipped into unconsciousness was say a silent prayer to the guardian angel that must have been watching over us.


	7. Chapter 7

Elijah must have moved me because I found my self on the couch when I woke up the next morning. When I walked into the kitchen I found him at the stove flipping pancakes with a smile way too bright for someone who had a hole in his chest the night before. I sat down at the kitchen table cradling my head in my hands, I could feel the tender spot on my forehead that was now a dark purple. He served up the meal and pulled out every sort of topping I must have had in my pantry. He had strawberry syrup, while I stuck with maple, but we both covered even the bacon in honey. We ate in silence. Afterwards I did the dishes while he took a shower. He was apparently very appreciative of the fact that girls keep a well-stocked bathroom. When he was done I jumped in. He was enough of a gentleman to leave plenty of hot water for me. After I got changed into a fresh set of clothes, I offered Elijah a large tie-die shirt I often used as a pajama top and he accepted it. He commented on how well fortified my place was and a sense of pride filled me.

"I have been told I'm a bit paranoid," I said, which got him laughing. He still had his cell phone thankfully and was able to get a hold of Josh and Mark. They were all right. A bit shaken up still, but all right. Elijah told them what happened after the demon teleported us away, he handed me the phone so I could explain how we got away. It was still a bit blurry for him. I have no idea if my explanation made any sense; after I finished Josh laughed and said it must have been divine intervention. For some reason the idea made me kind of nervous. I handed Elijah back the phone, then grabbed my own cell phone glad I kept it in my pocket and called Father Patrick. I told him me and Elijah needed to stick together and keep our heads down for a while. I told him about the demons that were after us and that we were safe, for now. He wanted to know where we were, but I wouldn't tell him. Hanging with the feeling of guilt nagging at the back of my throat, I laid down on the carpeting in the living room. When Elijah had finished his phone call he joined me on the floor.

"What do we do now?" he said, stretching his arms out on the floor above his head.

"I don't know," I said, "Has Rick, said anything to you about last night?"

"No. He's not talking to me. What about David?" he asked. I closed my eyes, trying to find that spark of life inside of me that I knew belonged to David. It was a struggle but I pulled at that warmth until I forced David to appear. He wasn't happy when he suddenly showed up, standing over us. We both shot up to a sitting position and backed up to the couch.

"David what –" I said but he cut me off.

"I need to go back," David said. Elijah and I exchanged concerned glances.

"What are you talking about? Back where?" I said, a little annoyed at being cut off.

"I need you to give me back my grace. It has done nothing but put you in danger," he said, very adamantly. I just stared at him in confusion; this really wasn't helping my headache. When I looked over to Elijah he just shrugged, probably as baffled as I felt. David sighed in frustration, his fist clenched at his sides. "I am an angel of the Lord."

"Way to let the cat out of the bag there bro," said Rick, he appeared next to David, using his shoulder as an armrest. This time when they touched nothing happened.

"You guys … are angels?" I asked, needing to see how the statement tasted on my own tongue. It didn't seem too out of place.

"A ghost inside of me is one kind of strange, but an angel? Its just so much more out there," Elijah said, "Angels don't exist."

"Right you are kid, we don't. Not in this dimension any way," Rick said, "This is a divine intervention free zone. So Daddy thought it would be the best place for human souls that are strong enough to host an angel's grace to live. Souls like that are ridiculously pure, and too much divine power living on one plane of existence would be bad for the environment."

"There's an angel inside of me," Elijah repeated only looking at me. I don't think he was paying much attention to Rick. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I shook him a little hoping to snap him out of it.

"Oops. To much information I think," Rick said.

"Do you guys remember everything then?" I asked, turning back to the … um, angels. It could have been all the weirdness I'd gone through over the past few days, but I was taking this a lot better then Elijah. Maybe it was my faith. Rick turned to David and made this motion for him to go first. David looked away as if embarrassed.

"No. I still don't remember who I am. It's all very confusing," David said. I looked over at Rick who shook his head.

"Same here. I remember Heaven, but my place in it still escapes me," Rick said, making a fluttering motion with his hand. I turned back to Elijah who still looked like he was spacing out. I whispered his name hoping to get his attention. He turned his head to look at me and blinked a few times. He had this expression like he was trying to work out a hard math problem. I'd had seen that expression a lot of students in my study group when I still attended University of Minnesota.

"An angel," he finally said as a declarative statement, "All right. I can kind of see it." His expression turned into a proud grin, I guess he had figured out whatever problem was rattling around in his head. I was about to ask him what he meant when there was a pounding at the door. The sound was fast and rhythmic; who ever it was really wanted our attention. I shooed at David and Rick to disappear as I stood up then back tracked to the front door. Sure, whoever it was knocking at the door probably couldn't see them, but I'd rather be safe then sorry. Rick gave me these puppy dog eyes before disappearing, and David looked happy to get away from Rick before he too vanished. As I turned the doorknob, the thought crossed my mind briefly that I should have looked through the peephole first. I opened the door anyway.

"Maggie?" I said, staring at the thin girl in front of me. Her eyes lit up and she leapt towards me, swinging her arms around my neck. I stumbled back a bit, trying hard not to fall as my childhood friend lifted her legs off the ground, which was completely unnecessary since we were practically the same height. Her red curly hair kept getting into my month as I tried to coax her out of the embrace.

"Never do that again Danny. My heart can't take it," she said after letting me go. "I read you're email. I'm so sorry. I'm here if you need to talk. I can't imagine how you must feel. I was broken up about the news and he wasn't even my –oomph." I pulled her back into a hug, successfully getting her to stop talking. My heart swelled at her sincere ramblings, hers were the only condolences I actually welcomed. We practically grew up in each other's houses, she was the only person I could think of that would be impacted by my dad's passing as much as I. Forcing back the tears I could feel whelming up in my eyes, I let her go again.

"How did you know I was here? My email," I said, pulling her inside before shutting the door.

"I didn't for sure, but Father Patrick called. He was worried about you, and said something about you currently being somewhere safe. Now I know there are only three places you have ever described as safe, so I thought I'd give it a shot," Maggie said turning away from me. That's when she spotted Elijah in the living room, still sitting on the floor. He was leaning against the couch, with one arm resting the cushions. He looked completely composed with a very relaxed posture and sly grin. If this was supposed to be his 'act natural' response, it was throwing me off a bit. "Oh, did I interrupt something?" Maggie asked looking back at me, eyebrows raised. I rolled my eyes, walking further into the living room.

"This is Elijah. He's," I said, pausing for a second, "a long story. Elijah, this is Maggie."

"I bet he's a long story," Maggie said, sending me a wink. He stood up and greeted her by taking a hold of her hand and lightly kissed it. She giggled, and wiggled her fingers showing her promise ring. "Sorry, boy I'm taken." He shrugged, playing along.

"So am I," he said, "Is she?"

"Yes, she passed my front door devil trap," I said, happy for the subject change.

"Oh, you're part of that world. Did something happen? Is he a hunter like from Supernatural?" Maggie asked, grabbing a hold of my arm. Her green eyes sparkled with excitement. I had introduced her to the idea that the supernatural were real and she took to it like a bed time story; always wanting to know more, but only if I was the one telling the stories. Until she discovered live action TV dramas that specialized in fantasy and occult. Of course, I made sure she understood the danger of that world that some of the more romantic based TV shows glazed over. Actually, she was the one to introduce me to Supernatural to begin with.

"What's 'Supernatural?" Elijah asked, even adding in the air quotes. Maggie sort of gapped at him, completely dumbfounded. He was in for it now.

"Only the best TV show ever," she said, "It deserved so much more then five seasons and then there was that sad excuse for a spin off book series that never made it past three books. I mean I was happy when Cas got a book all to him self especially since they killed him off at the end of the TV show, but it deserved so much more attention then it got. Maybe we should watch a few episodes." She was looking at me, her eyes begging. I wanted to look away I really did.

"I don't know," I said, trying to stay strong.

"Of course, unless you two were busy. I understand," she said, tapping a finger against her cheek. "You need time alone." Was she really playing that card? I could already feel my face start to flush. She really knew how to push my buttons.

"Fine season one," I said. She cheered and raced off to my bedroom to retrieve my DVD collection. "Sorry about this."

"I don't mind, we can't really go anywhere right now anyway with the King of Hell looking for us," Elijah said, sitting down on the far side of the couch. "But real quick. Last night I remember you said that demon's name. How did you know it?"

"Found them!" Maggie cheered returning to the living room. She immediately went over to my TV and stuck the first disc into the DVD player. "Did I hear you two mention something about last night?"

"Nope," we both said probably too quickly. She smiled, grabbed the remote and sat down on the other end of the couch before I could. Which just left me the middle, how cozy. We watched until noon, when I got up to make some lunch. Maggie helped me and we kept the show rolling for Elijah. He became pretty immersed in it after the first episode. We ended up eating in front of the TV. Some times he would comment on the main characters' hunting techniques or how he would have approached the hunt differently. Once Maggie found out that hunters were real and Elijah was one of them, even if he was still new to it, she had a million questions. She waited to ask most of them during the credits and when I had to exchange the DVD. As time passed we eventually moved to the floor taking all of the cushions with us and building a nest with blankets and pillows I had around the apartment. By the time the sun sank below the horizon, we were huddled close together with me still in the middle. It was warm. We didn't have many episodes left in the season to watch when I drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

I knew what was going to happen as I watched the holy light surround that run-down house. Its presence made the whole place shake. This was the end. I would be punished by my older brother and torn apart for my disobedience. It would be nothing like the re-education I had to endure before. It would be much, much worse. The moment his hands grabbed a hold of me, hot pain coursed through my body. I was dragged up high into the air. It felt like my limbs were being stretched in more directions than physically possible. My back ached the most. I couldn't think. All I felt was the pain, sharp and unbearable. But it wasn't my screams that woke me up. It was Elijah's.

My eyes snapped opened, I could feel Maggie's arms wrapped around me. She was staring at Elijah and pulling me further away from him. He was sitting up, his arms clutching his stomach. I got out of Maggie's hold and reached for him. My whole body was shaking. He flinched when I touched his shoulder. His brown eyes looked pleading when he turned his head to look at me.

"I'm sorry," he whispered his voice was incredibly quiet. He went back to looking at where his hands lay against his stomach. Maggie pulled me away again and whispered that she needed to leave into my ear. I nodded and walked her to the door. She had to get up early for work tomorrow still, it being Monday. She didn't mean to stay so late. As she grabbed her things, she asked if I was going to be okay alone with Elijah. I knew I would be, we were safer together. We hugged goodbye. Then she left, promising to call later to check in on me. After I locked up, I caught the time on my wall clock. It was almost three in the morning. I shut off the TV, and then sat down next to Elijah. He hadn't moved.

"What happened?" I said, taking one of his hands. Mine were still shaking.

"I died," he said, "My brother killed me." Silent tears were rolling down his cheeks. As I watched, I could feel them starting to fall from my eyes too. I pulled one of the blankets, over us tucking him in.

"It's alright now," I said, "We're safe."

"You had a nightmare too?" he asked and I nodded. We leaned against each other and cried at the memory of the pain that did not belong to us. In the back of my mind I could feel David. I could feel him hurting. I wondered if Elijah could feel Rick hurting as well. We eventually fell asleep again, sitting together like that. The next day we didn't talk much and we didn't leave the apartment. We watched the rest of season one of Supernatural then moved on to season two. This became our routine for the rest of the week. When we were hungry, we ate and when it got late I made coffee. We slept in shifts, waking each other up if one of us had nightmares. Sometimes we talked about our lives before angels came into it. I found out a lot about Elijah.

He went to business school with a full scholarship on behalf of his mother's request, even though he wanted to go into computer programming. In high school he was on the track and field team. He was the best sprinter they had. On rainy days he would entertain his two younger half-siblings with kid friendly versions of stories from his father's old hunting journal with shadow figures. He's always loved strawberries, and when he was younger his father took him strawberry picking near his hometown, which was only hours up state. His favorite movie was Men In Black and he was afraid of spiders.

When he was in middle school his parents got divorced, he hasn't heard from his dad since. I could relate to that, the only contact I had with my mom was a monthly check that came in the mail until I was eighteen. His mom remarried about a year later, she was already pregnant with the twins by the day of the wedding. Eventually I told him what happened to my father. I didn't cry this time. Instead I smiled telling Elijah things I use to do with my dad, like the time he taught me how to fix the plumbing and flooded the bathroom. Or the time we decided to repaint our entire living room a dark green after my mother left us. All of the furniture was stacked in the kitchen or upstairs in my room. He turned up the radio and we spent the day singing at the top of our lungs, dancing around and getting paint everywhere. One night during our time of being shut-ins, Elijah surprised me by finding my CD collection. He said we needed to get some exercise. He turned up the volume and made me dance with him into the early hours of the morning. Neither of us really knew how to dance.

David and Rick left us alone for the most part. Once in awhile I could hear David in the back of my head muttering ideas about how he could get home. I could feel his longing for that world he could not remember and the people he left behind there. I wanted to get him back there. We were eating when I expressed my desire to Elijah. He agreed and suggested we do some research. The Internet only got us so far, and we didn't even find anything useful. We decided we would brave the outside world and head to the library. Before we left we made sure to have all the basic essentials with us just incase we couldn't come back. We ended up taking the bus since my car was still parked at Father Patrick's house. When we got there, we spent the whole time buried in any religious books and ancient folk myths that were available. In the end we found nothing. Then my cell phone rang. I got a lot of dirty looks and a few shush sounds from people around us when I answered it.

"Hello?" I said in the quietest voice I could muster. It was Father Patrick on the other end; he was back in town and said we needed to meet. He said to swing by his house as soon as I could, I'd pick up my car while I was at it. Elijah thought it would be a good idea to see him, a priest who was a former hunter. He could have some idea how to get David and Rick home. I agreed; the way Elijah put it helped return a little bit of my faith in the Father. If we knew anyone who could help us with this venture it would be him. This time I called a taxi.

When we arrived at Father Patrick's home he greeted us with a strained smile. The feeling of guilt tugged at my gut at how worn down he looked. I clearly caused him grief by wanting to distance myself from him, wanting to keep him safe. I apologized again about ditching him; he patted my head and forgave me. Once inside I introduced him to Elijah. The tension lessened when he invited us to dinner. Father Patrick questioned Elijah about his new life as a hunter through the whole meal. Then I told him what we found out about David and Rick.

"You two shouldn't help these creatures. It's dangerous. They cannot be trusted," Father Patrick said, not meeting our eyes.

"They're angels. I think we-" I said.

"I don't care what they say they are. They aren't natural," he said, cleaning up the table. "You shouldn't even be talking to them."

"Sir, they've saved our lives. Why would they suddenly mean us harm now?" Elijah said. Father Patrick had walked back into the kitchen and dropped the dirty dishes into the sink. The clattering of the dishes was loud against the sudden silence. We both cringed at the noise.

"It's late. We'll talk more in the morning," Father Patrick said. After we finished cleaning up he lead us into the living room and helped set up a bed for me on the couch and one for Elijah in the lounge chair. "I'll find a way to save you Danny, I care about you," he whispered to me before heading upstairs.

"I know," I whispered back.

I was fast asleep when it happened, and now I thank God that Elijah was awake. We were still in that routine of sleeping in shifts. I didn't understand what was happening. Something soft was pressed against my face, but it didn't register. I still thought I was dreaming. Then I heard a voice. Someone apologizing. A prayer. Then came the pressure and the pain. My lungs burned, I couldn't breath. When I tried to open my mouth all I could taste was fabric. I squeaked out a pathetic excuse for a scream and struggled beneath the weight. My heart was beating so fast, everything seemed muffled and it was the only thing I heard. It might have been the last thing I heard. Then the weight was pulled off of me. I ripped the fabric like object off my face and greedily gasped for air. The room was still dark, but I could see two figures wrestling on the ground. One of them was Elijah, and the one on top was Father Patrick. He had a hold of Elijah's neck and was saying something about needing to free me from that monster at all costs. But I really wasn't listening. I grabbed for the nearest heavy object, I think it was a candy dish and threw it hard at the Father's head. I watched as his body went limp and Elijah crawled out from underneath him. Elijah came over to me and gently but quickly pulled me away.

"Is he..?" I asked as Elijah led me to the kitchen.

"Just unconscious," he said grabbing a bag and stuffing it with food and water and salt. "Where are the keys?" Shaking I pulled off a key ring from a hook near the window. They were my car's keys. He took them from me; we went outside and got in the car. Elijah drove off; I didn't pay attention to what direction. We couldn't go back to my apartment. It wasn't safe anymore. I was running out of places that I could call safe. He kept to the back roads; eventually I no longer recognized the scenery. It wasn't until the sun was in the sky again that I noticed we were heading west. Half of the day went by before he jumped on the highway. We didn't stop until it was almost five. He pulled off and found a Wendy's. As we ordered from the drive-thru it was the first time either of us had spoken all day. Once we got our food, Elijah pulled back on the road. Eating with one hand and driving with the other. He said he wanted us to get as far away as possible, to some place where we don't know anyone. When the sun started to set we knew we needed to find a place to stop. But Elijah didn't want to stay at a motel; we didn't have any sort of wards to protect us from demons. And I didn't want to stop to see if a local church would put us up since that's where Crowley's lackey first found me. We had gotten away once. I didn't think Crowley would try sending low-level demons after us. We agreed he'd probably come himself again. So instead we pulled over and switched spots. I kept going west.

"Danny, we need to talk," Rick said. The sudden sound surprised me, but I didn't react. I looked into my rear-view mirror and sure enough there he was sitting in the back seat. He had this real serious look on his face, it was a look I can't remember seeing on Elijah's face yet. I briefly glanced over at the passenger seat to see Elijah asleep.

"I didn't know you could talk to me while Elijah was out," I said, my eyes back on the road.

"You need to stop this whole trying to get us back home scheme," he said, "It won't end well for anyone."

"Is there something you're not sharing with the class Rick?" I asked.

"I can tell you feel for my little brother. That's real sweet and all but I don't want you and Elijah getting yourselves killed. I've grown fond of the boy in the months he's played host to me and my grace," he said. "David's asleep." It wasn't a question. I focus inside myself and found the light that I knew was David. He was in fact fast asleep.

"How did you know?" I said.

"You expected him to be asleep, so he is. You can influence him just as much as he can influence you. I have a confession to make. My name isn't Rick, its Gabriel. And I remember everything."

"Why aren't you telling Elijah this?" I asked.

"You're the one who's hell bent on getting my little bro home. The kid's just going along with it cause he has a thing for you," he said. I could hear the confident smirk in his voice. My face felt hot. I really wanted to pull over, it was hard to concentrate on the dark road and listen to what Rick had to say. No, that wasn't right. His name was Gabriel, not Rick. He was the angel Gabriel. The Archangel Gabriel. One of Heaven's strongest weapons and Messenger of God. And he was sitting in the backseat of my car. Because my life couldn't get any weirder. He told me he remembered his old life the moment he met David and he knew the answer to what we were looking for. Anger bubbled up in my throat. If he had just told us, we wouldn't have gone to Father Patrick for help. We wouldn't be running away blind. I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel.

"Are you going to tell me what we want to know? Or just let us continue our wild goose chase while we play hide and seek with the King of Hell?" I said. If I could turn around and send him a glare I would have. The archangel laughed, it sounded like a mixture of Elijah's voice, his own, and bells. It sent a shiver down my spine.

"There are only two ways to get us back to that dimension that as far as you were aware until recently was only a TV show. You two would have to rip out our graces, releasing us from you and that would kill you. No, that's not right. It would erase you from existence." The anger I felt trickled away to dread and fear. My grip tightened on the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.

"And the other?" I said, swallowing a hard lump in my throat.

"I know a path that connects the two dimensions that you two can access using our grace. Well, mainly my grace. But here's the catch, you'd have to come with us and you won't be able to return." I didn't say anything again for the rest of the night. I needed to talk to Elijah about this, and I didn't want to do it in a car. Eventually I pulled off the highway and then drove until I found an old cemetery. It was the only sort of hallowed ground I could handle standing on right now. I prayed to whoever would listen that we wouldn't be disturbed, even though I knew it wouldn't do any good. Divine intervention free zone after all. Then I woke Elijah up, but made sure David was still asleep. We talked sitting on the hood of the car. I told him everything. This would affect him so much more than me. He still had family.

"What do you want to do?" Elijah asked me. I stared at my hands in my lap my mind was racing. What I wanted was to go back to my apartment, my job, my friends, and my life. I wanted my dad alive again. But I also wanted to help David and Gabriel. Mainly David. I wanted him to be safe and home again. I had no reason to care so much, but I did. Also I didn't want to die. I really, really didn't want to die.

"I'm not going to spend the rest of my life running. I'm taking David home," I said, looking Elijah in the eye. "You shouldn't give up your life here for this though."

"Neither should you," he said, then turned his gaze up to the night sky. "I already gave up my old life four months ago when I started hunting. I haven't spoken to my mom or the twins in months and I was only really a burden to Josh and Mark. A fresh start might be nice, and I would love to get Gabriel's voice out of my head." The last part made me smile.

"We're insane aren't we?" I said.

"Maybe a little," he said, "But that's a given for anyone who has grown up knowing that monsters are real." Our minds were made up. We got David and Gabriel's attention and told them our decision. Neither of them were too enthused about it, but in David's case that could have been because he was too busy fuming on the fact that Gabriel lied earlier about not remembering who he was. David spent a good ten minutes scolding Gabriel, then another ten trying to get the archangel to tell him who he was.

"Are you done yet? Cause the kids' little suicide mission to get us home does require some planning," Gabriel said, removing his hands from his ears. David glared hard at his brother as if his eyes could burn right through Gabriel and force him to tell him what he wanted to know. Gabriel ignored him and asked us if we had a map. I slid off the hood and opened up the passenger side door. It took me a minute to go through the collection of junk in my glove compartment before I found a map. It was only of the Midwest area, but Gabriel said it would do. I laid it out flat on the hood next to Elijah letting Gabriel scan it over. He pointed to a spot on the north part of Wisconsin close to the border. "That is where a currently closed one-way Hell Gate resides. We'll literally have to go through Hell to get back to that dimension since in our current state we don't have the power to directly travel to a different world," he said.

"We can't cut through Heaven?" Elijah asked his posture had stiffened at the mention of Hell. Maybe his hunter instincts were kicking in.

"Only thing allowed alive in Heaven is God and his perfect little soldiers. Last I checked you two were human," Gabriel said. He kept glancing over at David who was still glaring at him. If looks could kill the archangel would be six feet under, and if he weren't already a ghost. Sort of. I took a closer look at the map, trying to determine how long it would take us to get there. If we drove straight there it would take us at least a day and a half, and I wasn't too keen on being cooped up in a car for that long. I was starting to feel claustrophobic. There was also the issue of all that land we'd have to backtrack, including driving through Minnesota. At least our funds were holding out for now.

We had to stop a few times for gas on our long drive, and each time I swear I saw someone staring at us that had black eyes. The eyes of a demon. Every time I'd point the person out to Elijah, he or she would disappear before he saw him or her, which really didn't help my paranoia. When night rolled around again I insisted we stop at a motel. We both could really use a good nights sleep in an actual bed. No one else agreed with me, but I was the one driving at the time so I pretty much out ranked them. When we got there, after we demon proofed the room as best we could, Gabriel showed us what we would need to do to open the Hell Gate. It included a few things that we'd have to buy at a hardware store tomorrow, not to mention our salt supply ran out after we finished our motel room's barriers.

The price for the motel used up the last of the cash I had on me, so in the morning I went to an ATM and withdrew as much as I could. I also made a very painful phone call to Maggie. We both cried. She promised to look after my family's home until I got back. I told her I doubted I'd come back, but she kept insisting that I would. Then we just talked for a good half an hour about the most random things. We talked about things we use to do together, childhood memories. Like the time after we first saw the Ghostbusters movie and spent the rest of that week hunting ghosts that were in our basements with a cardboard vacuum cleaner. I made sure to check that there were no real ghosts first of course. We talked about her job. Her students were a handful as always, but she still loved them. We talked about the day her parents moved upstate, we saw so much less of each other after that. But the goodbye that day was nothing compared to this one. It took me a few tries to coax Maggie to hang up. Elijah offered to drive the rest of the way and I let him.


End file.
